A few announcements about upcoming projects and podcasts! Your opinion matters!Take the Summer Shape Up Survey, Click Here! NUTRITIONThis week is part two of ways to eliminate carb cravings.  In this episode, we look at the food and metabolism related ways to cut cravings! Spices and SaucesRemoving sugar and processed fat foods may take some time if your diet has too many. Don't worry,  have faith, you can do it!  You must first recognize that there are delicious substitutes and prepare them ahead of time. Don’t be caught unprepared! Always have on hand, or know how to get,  lower carb options.Here are some great flavor boosters to help ease cravings!VanillaCinnamonNutmeg CocoaMintClovesGarlicOnion AniseCorianderCumin VinegarsCitrusPomegranateBerriesCherriesSome more substitutions for carb cravings: If you crave.....Salty foods such as chips or pizza, you be low in tryptophan or chloride.Solution........Cheese, fish, sweet potatoes, spinach, and sea salt.If you crave....Chocolate, you may need magnesium or zinc.Solution......Dark chocolate.  Particularly 70 percent or higher dark chocolate.If you crave sugar or bread......You may be dehydrated.Solution....Drink water! Hydrate yourself. Need flavor? Add any citrus to your water, such as lemon, lime or orange.If you crave processed fatty foods.......Solution....Have a meal with protein and good fats. For example, eggs cooked in coconut oil, meat and nuts, a slice of bacon with an egg and avocado, or meat/ fish slices and a piece of cheese.If you crave sugary candy, you may need sulfur.  Solution....Eat fibrous, crunchy veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower or Brussels sprouts.2.  Eliminate Processed Foods Research shows that eating too many processed carbs actually changes your brain structure, generating neuronal adaptations to make you crave them constantly. Think of them like drugs for your brain, you may even have withdrawal symptoms!Solution:Replace processed foods with whole, low-glycemic foods that are high in protein and healthy fats. 3.  Improve your metabolism! Focus on becoming metabolically flexible.  This refers to your body’s ability to burn both fat and carbohydrates for energy. This is what your body should do in an ideal situation. It allows you to have energy, lose body fat easier and increase exercise capacity.Metabolically inflexible is the opposite (of course!). Your body is adapted to burn carbohydrates and unable to mobilize and use body fat. High carb, low fat diets tend to promote this effect.  Anytime blood sugar drops due to not eating for a few hours, your body carves carbs to raise your blood sugar. If you taken in too many high-sugar carbs, you’ll crave high-sugar carbs because sugar has an addictive quality, activating a sensation of pleasure in the brain.Solution:Avoid high-sugar carbs and change your focus from carbs to protein and healthy fats.  For normal-weight people, the ability to burn body fat can be increased simply by eating a higher fat, lower carb diet. But overweight people’s bodies don’t adapt so easily and obese people are actually metabolically inflexible and incapable of burning body fat. This can be changed—it’s not a permanent state—but changing diet doesn’t appear to adapt the body to do it. One way for overweight people to increase fat burning is to do strenuous exercise. Both intense sprint training and long endurance exercise act as a catalyst for the overweight to become more metabolically flexible. Strength training may also be effective. 4.  Improve Your Insulin Sensitivity Many overweight people often  insulin resistant, insulin doesn’t cut appetite, and you'll feel hungry after eating even a carb-fillled meal. Studies show that not only does an individual’s degree of insulin sensitivity predict hunger in the hours after eating, it also predicts the ability to lose body fat. The easiest way to improve insulin health is to exercise—strength training, aerobic exercise, and sprints all work. Eating a low-carb diet